Teen Alerts Neighbor To Fire

KSAL StaffJuly 4, 2014

Salina firefighters battled two large structure fires late Thursday into early Friday, one of which was caused by fireworks.

The first fire was at 2319 Shalimar Drive. The fire, which was ignited by fireworks, badly damaged the home.

A neighbor across the street, 15-year-old Josh Steinle, was the first to notice the fire. He tells KSAL News that he looked across the street and could see through the garage window what appeared to be a fire on the south wall inside. He ran across the street to alert the Freeman family that their house was on fire. He says by the time he got to the house, the fire had quickly spread. The family had no idea there was a fire. They all exited the home safely.

Battalion Chief Calvin Kelsey from the Salina Fire Department tells KSAL News that crews were dispatched to the fire at 11:04 PM. He says it was started in the garage by firework’s remnants. The family had been discharging fireworks earlier. He says when they were finished, they put the debris in a box and left it in the garage.

The fire destroyed the attached garage, and a pickup truck that was parked inside it. It also damaged the rest of the home.

As crews were cleaning up on Shalimar, at 12:44 PM they were dispatched to another fire, near North 2nd Street and Pacific. Kelsey says that a portion of the old Flamingo Motel was on fire.

The Flamingo fire originated inside one of the abandoned rooms of the structure, and caused extensive damage. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined.

Kelsey adds that earlier in the day crews extinguished a large grassfire in the 2100 Block of Magnolia, near the Salina Soccer Complex.

There were no injuries in any of the fires.

Kelsey says that the fire department is stressing fireworks safety. When discharging fireworks, have a water supply nearby. He suggests a hose, a bucket of water, or both. When finished discharging, soak the firework remnants in a bucket of water.

Emporia assisted living facility destroyed by fire

The fire at the Flamingo badly damaged a vacated area of the structure.